SXSW Thu: The Strokes, Zola Jesus, Cass McCombs

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The Strokes [Auditorium Shores Stage; 8:15 p.m.]

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Most bands at SXSW desperately try to win their audiences over with every attention-grabbing trick in the book. But with the Strokes, it can feel like you have to win them over. Julian Casablancas has talked about his reluctance to tour this year, so it seemed like it may take some magical forces to get on this band's good side-- especially after Casablancas flubbed nearly an entire verse of opener "What Ever Happened?". But he quickly recovered, pointing out a woman translating his words in sign language near the side of the stage and quipping, "I don't know what I'm saying, how could you possibly?" From there on, the singer and the rest of the band were close to flawless on the riverside stage as they took in plenty of love and gave back the songs everybody wanted to hear.

At this point, set list selection is a big deal with the Strokes because their arsenal isn't as stacked as it was right after Room on Fire. So it was a relief that they only grazed 2006's justly maligned First Impressions of Earth and, of the five songs from new album Angles, there were three winners ("Gratisfaction", "Taken for a Fool", and "Under Cover of Darkness") and two duds ("You're So Right" and "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight"). The rest of the 80-minute set was made up of the band's towering first two LPs, and songs like "Hard to Explain", "I Can't Win", and the gorgeous "Under Control"-- made even sweeter by a newly stripped-down intro-- went over as fine as ever. The idyllic weather, cool breeze, and picturesque Austin skyline behind them only added to the positive vibes.

At the start of the encore, Casablancas led his band into newbie "Gratisfaction" by proclaiming "let's get to work" before quickly correcting himself-- "get to fun!" And the droll singer even sounded like he meant it (as much as possible, at least). It was a telling bit of spontaneity, one that gave the crowd its hard-won acceptance. The fireworks during closer "Last Nite" only confirmed the conquest.

Zola Jesus [Beerland; 1:00 a.m.]

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"Sorry I sound like a dying cat," said Zola Jesus's Nika Roza Danilova at the end of her set. But any vocal troubles were dwarfed by logistical problems involving the venue, Beerland. The dive bar is known as a local punk incubator and its audio set-up simply wasn't suited to Zola's immense, end-of-world goth. And neither was the bar itself, really-- and not just because its too-low stage made (the admittedly tiny) Danilova invisible to anyone more than 10 feet away. Zola Jesus are past the dive-bar stage of their development, so to see them in such a regressive environment was disappointing. The show was ZJ's only gig at SXSW this year, which gave it an air of exclusivity. But, as it happens, the one-off wasn't able to flatter their over-the-top attack.

Cass McCombs [Emo's; 12:00 a.m.]

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Cass McCombs' forthcoming album WIT'S END is a somber affair suited to a lonely porch-- it's mysterious, dark, and intriguing. All those qualities were sucked out of McCombs' songs from the get-go at his Emo's set last night, though. Under harsh light and dealing with typical bar chatter, his quiet brilliance was almost completely lost. The pedestrian show did make me appreciate the spare-but-effective production of his last couple records, mostly because such subtlety was truly needed here. He started with "County Line"-- one of the year's best songs so far-- and some asshole yelled "YEAH!" at the top of his lungs in the middle of the song, which made the artist/venue mismatch that much clearer. McCombs knows how to wring the most out of his oblique songs via stark arrangements and classy production, but onstage in grubby clothes and Eddie Vedder hair, he was exposed way too much.

Mount Kimbie [ND; 10:00 p.m.]

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Not long ago, James Blake was playing live sets with his friends in the UK electronic duo Mount Kimbie. At SXSW, Blake is playing to capacity crowds at big outdoor venues and Mount Kimbie are playing to a decent audience at the medium-sized East Austin spot ND. A lot of it has to do with the fact that James Blake has a remarkably recognizable singing voice and Mount Kimbie do not. The pair sounded crisp on this night, switching between a bed of electronics and guitars and even a few cymbal crashes. But, once again, the venue did not help them carry their glitchy, groove-based songs across. Mount Kimbie make pulsing music that comes with its own wavy atmosphere-- they deserve some fog and flashing lights. But they got an unchanging, wan florescence from above that brought out the fact these these dudes are not much to look at more than anything else. It almost seemed cruel. Truth be told, it took a fair amount of camera work to make them look interesting in that photo above, but I felt like their striking music deserved an apt presentation. I understand that the vastness of SXSW makes it hard to grant every show with synchronized lights and plumes of light-catching fog, but Mount Kimbie may have been more effective in complete darkness on this night.